Subscribe to this blog

Follow by Email

Celebrating 400 Years of the King James Bible -- Sightings

In 1611 a new English translation of the Bible appeared. It carried the authorization of the British monarch, King James 1. James I was the son of the infamous Mary, Queen of Scots, the rival of Queen Elizabeth, and who had been raised Presbyterian. When he became king of both Scotland and England at the death of Elizabeth there was great hope that he would side with those in the English church that wanted to abolish episcopacy, a party that came to be known as Puritans. He was unsympathetic to the anti-episcopacy crowd, but he was willing to support the translation of a new bible, and so four hundred years ago one of the most influential books in the English language was published. Over the next year we will likely have conversations about this version of the Bible and its influence. I'm not of the view that we should use it as a primary translation (the English is majestic, but not current), nor follow the textual tradition (as does the New King James Version) as it is a deficient tradition. That said, we should affirm its importance on a literary and even spiritual level. More will be forthcoming as time goes by, but here I'd like to let Martin Marty have his say.

*****************************************

Sightings 11/29/2010

Celebrating 400 Years of the King James Bible

- Martin E. Marty

Thanksgiving weekend gave those who live off or for the media an excuse to slow down, turn off some signals, and settle back to football, turkey, and family—or to shop. For those who keep the Christian calendar, yesterday was also a significant change-of-pace day, since it was the beginning of a new church year. Readers of Sightings who are distant from Christian observances cannot have escaped the carols and wreaths which resound and decorate public spaces. Looking for ways to celebrate the season and anticipate 2011, we were aided by an editorial from the Observer in the UK.

Here’s the deal: 2011 is the 400th anniversary of the King James Version of the Bible, an event that merits observance far beyond the circles of librarians, antiquarians, and classicists. Anyone who keeps files on the fate of the KJV in the twentieth century and ever since will find many controversies to pass on the way to the book and its cultural import. Thus I have files, books, and personal recall of the way defenders of the King James edition fought off new translations. The Revised Standard Version, backed by the National Council of Churches, was scorned as “Stalin’s Bible” because it seemed to some to slight the virgin birth of Jesus. Burnings of the Bible at mid-century, when the Revised Standard Version appeared, drew attention just as the planned burning of the Qur’an recently did.

Expect debates all anniversary year over whether the authorizer of the KJV, King James I, was homosexual, bisexual, or falsely pointed to as “different” in his time as in ours. When fundamentalists have a slip of tongue or memory and speak of him as the “Saint James Bible,” selective readers of the evidence will pounce and proclaim him as a homosexual saint. This is a second distraction on the way to the celebration.

And there is much to celebrate, as the Observer editorial makes clear. More than any other writing, including the plays of Shakespeare, KJV did so much to formalize written English and do so with majesty. The Observer: “as well as selling an estimated 1bn copies since 1611,” it went into our literary bloodstream. Shakespeare needed 31,000 words to bless that bloodstream, while the KJV needed only 12,000.

Among the 12,000 words that the translating committee of King James adopted from the Hebrew and Greek were “long-suffering,” “scapegoat” and “peacemaker.” We might need all three as the antagonists line up on both sides of “Stalin’s Bible” and the sexually-complex battles mentioned above. Those who mourn the loss of the Version’s hegemony will side with Raymond Chandler, who said that the Bible was “a lesson in how not to write for the movies.” It was a lesson in how to write for elites and masses alike.

Although “secular, multicultural Britain” will celebrate the quartercentenary, Robert McCrum sounds rueful: “Some 450,000 people each month do google searches for King + James+ Bible, of which fewer than 10% originated in the UK.” The Observer editorialist looked west across the Atlantic and observed how the KJV was used by Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King Jr., and Barack Obama. Theodore Roosevelt declared that “the King James Bible is a Magna Carta for the poor and oppressed: the most democratic book in the world.” One hopes that controversies of the sort I mentioned here will bring this Bible to front pages and prime time.

Comments

I guess the KJV doesn't spark much interest in your readers. One anecdote: I have a friend who, owing to his atheism and a Mensa membership, believed that his total ignorance of the Bible was perfectly justified. I challenged him to read Genesis. So he did and went on to read the whole Bible. It didn't change his atheistic bent, but he couldn't believe how many things made more sense, or made sense for the first time, when he discovered their origins. Although I wouldn't advise most people to begin their introduction to the Bible with the KJV, it was ideal for him, as most of the literary illusions arise from it. Somehow, the 23rd Psalm just doesn't cut it in modern versions, and, well, you get the idea.

I was going to list a bunch of yucky bible verses, and decided it wasn't very original (you know death to nonbelievers, homosexuals, those working on the sabbath, rebellious kids, killing all inhabitants, but saving the virgin girls for pleasure..).

I didn't realize the NKJ was pro-homosexual. How so?

Anyway, in the news-

Revelation 9:6

And in those daies shal men seeke death, and shall not finde it, and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.

As Catholics were responsible for writing the New Testament (under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit), the Catholic Church doesn't "interpret" the Bible. We explain it.

Protestants can only "interpret", because they are not the author (guided by the Holy Spirit), and therefore, can only guess at the possible meaning of a chapter, passage or phrase, just as anyone can only guess at any author's intentions in any other book.

As the author, the Catholic Church is the only proper authority to consult in matters pertaining to the Bible.

Steve, it is interesting that a translation that was intended to give greater clarity (contemporary langague) became the paramount influence on the development of the English language and culture. That the translators contributed to the words we use is most interesting. Do hope we can get this conversation going!

I'd love to see some Wiki leaks on church leaders and their "spirit guided" processes (I won't only pick on the Catholics, but then again they're probably all digitized and ready to go). Maybe after the looming large US bank release.

We thought you might like to know about our latest drama documentary made by the fantastic director, BAFTA and Emmy award-winning director, Norman Stone (Shadowlands, Florence Nightingale).

Made in preparation for the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible, KJB - The Book that Changed the World features John Rhys-Davies (Lord of the Rings, Indiana Jones) who leads us through the intrigue, treachery and gun powder plot, recounting the rise to the throne of King James VI / I and his beloved Bible translation.

You may wish to view our website where you also see a trailer for the film: www.kjbthefilm.com

It is already out on DVD on Amazon in the UK (and it'll be released in the States in April) and we'd love it if you could take a look and let us know what you think - even review it on your Blog, perhaps. Could we please send you a preview DVD of the film?

It is so typical of the British Establishment to fete the King James Bible and quietly forget the Wycliffe Bible (See 400th Anniversary of King James Bible). Wycliffe and others died for this first English bible that was little different from that sanctioned by royalty.

Popular posts from this blog

Mark 11:1-11 (John 12:12-16) New Revised Standard Version11 When they were approaching Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples 2 and said to them, “Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately as you enter it, you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden; untie it and bring it. 3 If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ just say this, ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here immediately.’” 4 They went away and found a colt tied near a door, outside in the street. As they were untying it, 5 some of the bystanders said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” 6 They told them what Jesus had said; and they allowed them to take it. 7 Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it; and he sat on it. 8 Many people spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut in the fields. 9 Then those who went ahead and those who followed were shouting,“Hosan…

John 15:9-17 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)9 As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. 10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. 11 I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete. 12 “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15 I do not call you servants[a] any longer, because the servant[b] does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father. 16 You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. 17 I am giving you these commands so that you may love one …

I had not heard of the Religious Sovereign Movement that apparently is spreading across the country. It is an attempt to overturn our legal system or at least turn it on its head. As I read this exposition of the movement where all citizens become lawyers (as opposed to priests), interpreting laws as they see fit, I'm led to think of the way we are as a nation as a whole pushing individualism to its extremes. What binds us together I wonder? Anyway, take a look at this essay from the University of Chicago Divinity School and Martin Marty Center offered up by Spencer Dew and his student Jamie Wright.

God's Law: Universal Truth According to Religious Sovereign Citizens

By SPENCER DEW and JAMIE WRIGHT OCT 15, 2015
Credit: Justin Deschamps, aka An Agent for Consciousness Evolution / Stillness in the Storm blog In May of last year, police in Madison County, Tennessee, made a traffic stop of a kind that has been increasingly common in recent years. Officers pulled over a car with …

I am a Disciples of Christ pastor, theologian, community activist, historian, teacher. I'm a graduate of Fuller Theological Seminary with a M.Div. and a Ph.D. in Historical Theology. I'm the author of a number of books including
Out of the Office: A Theology of Ministry (Energion, 2017), Marriage in Interesting Times (Energion, 2016), and Freedom in Covenant (Wipf and Stock, 2015).